Research in our lab is aimed at studying the enzymological aspects of heme biosynthesis, particularly the initial enzyme of the pathway, 5-aminolevulinate synthase (ALAS), and the final enzyme, ferrochelatase. The main aim of my project is understanding how specific structural region of ALAS affect the enzymatic mechanism, kinetics, and conformational dynamics. Another area of interest is the characterization of the folding pathway of ALAS to its native state, as well as understanding the biochemical and biophysical properties of any stable, partially folded intermediates.